For those keeping track, I’m happy to report that I’m writing this from safety in Argentina. I, together with some other foreign tourists, got out of the literal tourist trap set by the Chilean protestors by walking 6 hours, refugee style, to the Argentina border. We successfully crossed two blockades before we reached the border. […]
Latest Blog Posts
How To Call US Toll Free Numbers From Overseas
When you are overseas you can still call US toll-free number free of charge, only if you know how.
Timing Mutual Fund Purchases Around Year-End Distributions Backfired Again
Financial advisor Allan Roth has a pet peeve against the Associated Press’s habit of reporting the raw S&P 500 index changes as if they are the U.S. stock market returns. He argues the true U.S. stock market returns should (a) include dividends; and (b) include small caps. I agree with him, but the media don’t […]
The Best Way to Use a Donor Advised Fund
Speaking of donating appreciated shares to charities, I read a great article by Nickel at FiveCentNickel.com about using a donor advised fund as an alternative to donating shares directly to each individual charity. Donor Advised Fund In a Nutshell A donor advised fund lets you do time-shifting. You donate and take the tax deduction now. […]
How To Donate Or Gift Shares to Charity Or Family Member
You probably heard donating appreciated stocks or mutual fund shares to a charity is more cost effective than donating cash. The charity gets the shares. You get a tax deduction for the full value (if you itemize) and you avoid paying capital gains tax. You can also gift appreciated shares to a family member who […]
Three Tax Cuts That Are Not Extended
Although the Bush tax cuts were extended for another two years, some tax incentives were not extended because they weren’t part of the Bush tax cuts. They fall into the one-time stimulus category. Residential Energy Tax Credit The Residential Energy Property Credit provides a 30% tax credit of up to $1,500 over a two-year period […]
Asset Allocation for a 529 Plan
It’s that time of the year again. I need to make a new contribution to my niece’s 529 plan for her future college expenses. When I looked for a plan for her last year, I came to the conclusion that the typical age-based options don’t make sense. The typical age-based options in a 529 plan […]
What Investors Really Want
What Investors Really Want is the title of a book I’m going to start reading. It got endorsements from some people I respect: John Bogle, Burton Malkiel, and William Bernstein. That’s always a good sign. Before I read the book, I’d like to answer that question. What do investors really want? Getting in on a […]
Muni Selloff: A Preview of Deflating Bond Bubble
In case you haven’t noticed, the municipal bonds market had a small earthquake. It offers a preview for what can happen when a bond bubble deflates. The epicenter of the earthquake is in California. Although its budget trouble has been known for a long time, investors didn’t mind until last week. What made investors pay […]
A Finance Professor Writes About Prepaying Mortgage
The following was written by a finance professor at a major university, who shall remain unnamed until the said professor comes out to claim ownership. It was published yesterday by a blog run by several well known university professors. I’m quoting the full text because it was disowned by the blog that published it. A […]